My formative years as a banjo student were spent studying with Roger Sprung, who was one of the original “Washington Square” NYC pickers along with the likes of Pete Seeger and Doc Watson.
Learning banjo from Roger was like getting a weekly Vulcan “mind meld” from a computer that contained infinite encyclopedic knowledge of all things banjo. I bought my first Keith Banjo Tuners from Roger, who sold me a set of four. But Roger, mad scientist that he was, wasn’t done yet. He added a set of “cam” tuners which stretched the strings “up” and down as opposed to the four Keith Tuners which loosened the strings “down” and up again.
That’s right folks, Roger had created a monster! I now had six banjo tuners instead of the “usual” four. I realized that I could now play an entire G major scale using those six tuners plus my fifth string which makes for an easy half-step tweak from F sharp to high G. Roger taught me Josh Grave’s dobro piece “Buck’s Stumble” using this new “artillery” which laid quite nicely on the 6 tuners.
What to do next? I had this crazy new set up, so how do I explore it further? Fortunately for me something came along called “The New Twists for Banjo” contest sponsored by the Beacon Banjo Company who is the manufacturer of Keith Banjo Tuners. It was the idea of the president of the company Dan Bump to hold a series of contests where banjo players could send in recordings of how they approach songs using their Keith Tuners. They held three separate contests over the course of 1983-1984.
The first two contests were to be based on traditional tunes. The third and final one was to be based on an original tune. Each contest was judged by a different well-known banjo picker. These included Larry McNeely, Tony Trischka and some included commentaries by Bill Keith himself. I entered the first 2 contests, and though I didn’t place in the top 3, I did get an honorable mention for my version of “Home Sweet Home.” And then it was time for contest number 3, the original tune competition.
A little background regarding my living situation might be in order at this point. It was 1984 and I was living in an apartment attached to my parent’s house. (I know I was kind of a bum! I admit it ok?) My parents were away on an extended vacation and while they were away I would only answer the door of my apartment not the front door of the main house. This may sound insignificant, but it sets up what will be kind of the punch line to my story.
Anyway, I was alone in the house and it was the final night I had to write my original tune in order to get it in the mail in time. And I had NOTHING! So I went to the basement with my trusty cassette recorder to a small room where I did a lot of my practicing.
I wanted to establish an opening melody that hopefully wouldn’t sound like a typical cliche banjo in G tuning. So I thought to myself “With all these six tuners, you could probably pull off a piece starting on an A minor chord and go from there. So with tape machine running I plucked my G or 3rd string, hit Roger Sprung’s cam tuner and that took that G up one whole step to an A. From there, a melody in the key of A minor started to emerge.
I kept starting and stopping the tape machine getting a measure or two at a time. I even incorporated my 5th string into the midst of the tune – tuning it back and forth from F sharp to G occasionally.
After about four hours of this process of start and stop, my tune “Reverie” had come into the world, but in short piecemeal segments. Now, I had to go back and learn the segments, and play it all as one cohesive piece of music. Eight hours later the tape was packaged and ready to send for entry.
Three weeks passed. I had heard nothing back. I figured it was kind of a patched together mess that no one cared about. Then one day, I was in the vicinity of the front door of my parents’ side of the house and I heard a knock. Answering the door I was hassled by someone trying to sell me a magazine subscription. After sending them away and before closing the door I looked down and noticed a little package. It was from Beacon Banjo and had been delivered the week before though I never knew it since I never usually went near this door.
The contest always sent you a tape back of the winning entries, so I looked forward to hearing from the “good players” who placed in the top three. When I opened the package and read “Tony Trischka chose your “Reverie” as first place” I was practically knocked off my feet!
I was alone in the house yet again – but I started yelling “Way to Go” or whatever I could do to pat myself on the back. I was dancing, and even went and looked in the mirror . . . I said you did it you SOB. It was my first major recognition for a piece I wrote! To this day it is still one of the most joyful moments of my life!
Fast forward to present day, my banjo had to have some major maintenance work on it recently. It needed to have some “pins” put in it to save the head from breaking off the neck. By now the Keith Tuners had all broken down and they had to be dismantled to make the repairs.
So needless to say all of my banjo tuners that are now in a mausoleum for tuners. But, at least I have the tune to share with you. It is a major milestone in my life and I swear one day I will reassemble all six tuners and play it again, Sam!
